We are rapidly approaching a point of no return in the Middle East. So far, more than 28,000 people have died as a result of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, but if a full-blown regional war erupts the final death toll would be many times higher. Unfortunately, it appears that a full-blown war is exactly what we are going to get. Day after day there are more escalations, and now the Biden administration has approved plans for “a series of strikes over a number of days” against targets in Syria and Iraq…
U.S. officials have confirmed to CBS News that plans have been approved for a series of strikes over a number of days against targets — including Iranian personnel and facilities — inside Iraq and Syria. The strikes will come in response to drone and rocket attacks targeting U.S. forces in the region, including the drone attack on Sunday that killed three U.S. service members at the Tower 22 base inside Jordan, near the Syrian border.
Speaking at the Pentagon Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters that the U.S. won’t tolerate attacks on American troops.
“This is a dangerous moment in the Middle East,” Austin said, noting that Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on commercial shipping in the Red Sea were also happening in the region. “We will continue to work to avoid a wider conflict in the region, but we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our interests and our people, and we will respond when we choose, where we choose and how we choose.”
I don’t remember ever agreeing with Lloyd Austin about anything.
But in this case I definitely agree that “this is a dangerous moment in the Middle East”.
One wrong move could result in thousands of missiles flying in all directions.
Of course the Houthis are already firing off missiles on a regular basis, and on Thursday the U.S. military hit them again…
The U.S. military on Thursday destroyed a ground control station and 10 drones in areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis – the latest operation targeting their assets since the militant group began attacking commercial and Navy ships in the Red Sea.
The strikes were carried out “in self-defense” because the targets “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships in the area,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement. “This action will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels.”
Hours earlier, U.S. forces shot down a ballistic missile fired from “Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” Central Command said. The military also destroyed three Iranian drones in the area.
The U.S. is already at war in the Middle East, but most Americans don’t seem to realize this yet.
Meanwhile, the IDF and Hezbollah are both preparing for an “inevitable” war in southern Lebanon. The following comes from ABC News…
The prospect of a full-scale war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia terrifies people on both sides of the border, but some see it as an inevitable fallout from Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
Such a war could be the most destructive either side has ever experienced.
According to the agreement that ended the last war in Lebanon, Hezbollah forces are not supposed to be south of the Litani River.
Israeli officials are determined to restore the buffer zone in southern Lebanon, but Hezbollah will never withdraw north of the Litani River willingly.
So war is coming, and it is likely to get really messy…
A full-scale war would likely spread to multiple fronts, escalating the involvement of Iranian proxies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen — and perhaps even draw in Iran itself.
It could also drag the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, deeper into the conflict. The U.S. already has dispatched additional warships to the region.
Hezbollah has 150,000 to 200,000 rockets and missiles of various ranges, said Orna Mizrahi of the Israeli think tank Institute for National Security Studies. This arsenal is at least five times larger than that of Hamas and far more accurate, she said.
But there is one ray of hope.
A potential deal that would result in at least a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is currently being negotiated…
Hamas has given its initial approval for a ceasefire and hostage deal in the Gaza Strip, the Qatari foreign ministry announced on Thursday evening.
Israel had also agreed to the proposal agreed to in talks in Paris, Doha added. “There is no deal yet.
Hamas has received the proposal positively, but we are waiting for their response,” a Qatar official told Reuters. Hamas received the Paris truce proposal for a ceasefire and release of hostages in Gaza but did not give a response to any of the parties, the media adviser to the head of the political bureau of the Islamist movement told Reuters on Thursday.
There has been talk that a deal could “pause” the fighting for a couple of months.
If that actually happens, the war would not resume until after the winter is over.
And I find that timing to be extremely interesting.
On the other side of the globe, U.S. officials are feverishly preparing for “a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan”…
The United States is rushing to improve its military capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region in preparation for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Reuters reported Wednesday.
Five years ago, anyone that suggested that China would invade Taiwan was laughed at.
But now everything has changed.
In recent months, Xi Jinping has been openly threatening to invade Taiwan, and this has created a tremendous amount of concern…
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered the country’s military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. The U.S. holds a position of “strategic ambiguity” when it comes to defending Taiwan, but President Joe Biden has warned on multiple occasions that the U.S. will have direct military involvement if China invades the island, which the White House has had to continually walk back.
The moment that China invades Taiwan, the U.S. and China will be at war.
And as I discuss in my new book, that is just one of the major wars that we could potentially be facing in the next few years.
So enjoy this period of relative stability while you still can, because it won’t last for too much longer.
Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s extremely controversial new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written seven other books that are available on Amazon.com including “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned) When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. You can connect with Michael on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and sharing his articles on your own social media accounts is definitely a great help. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.